The Nationals have placed Ivan Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle, recalling fellow catcher Jesus Flores from Class AAA Syracuse to take his roster spot.

A DL stint for Rodriguez seemed inevitable after he injured himself during batting practice yesterday and had to be scratched from the Nationals’ starting lineup against the Cubs.

The club initially classified Rodriguez’s removal from the lineup as “precautionary” and suggested he would be available to pinch-hit if needed. But the 39-year-old required treatment throughout the afternoon and evening and struggled to put his shirt on after the game.

Rodriguez does believe he can avoid a long stint on the DL because he shut himself down as soon as he first felt the pull in his right side. He described the injury as “a mild” strain.

“When it happened to me, I stopped right away,” he said. “I didn’t continue playing. I talked to some other teammates that it happenedRead more

Mark you noted in ST that Flores was in the best shape you have seen him.Yet it seems that his offensive stats in 'Cuse this year are on the light side. At his best, before the '09 injuries, he was a significant force in the lineup. Wad's happened?

Isn't this what Zimm was diagnosed with for a while last year? And then this year? I hope they learned their lesson and don't let him play hurt! I like Jesus and hope that this is a good showcase for someone to want to buy him (SF?) and give us something lovely in return.

Solano is better offensively and defensively at this point and Flores really does need to play everyday in AAA not in the majors. The problem is Solano doesn't have a 40-man roster slot. Rizzo should give him one. Take it from Gaudin. At some point Rizzo has to cut some assets lose from his players collection.

I was going to make a case for his game-calling ability and all, and then I looked it up. The team's ERA is 3.60 and his cERA this year is 3.50. One run every ten games is not a big deal, right? Then I got to thinking that the whole thing is probably random anyway. How much influence does a catcher really have on a pitcher's ERA? Plus, Pudge's has been above the MLB average throughout his career anyway.He is a good defender, though, so I'll miss him for that. Better than Flores, for sure, and still better than Ramos at this point. Though, Ramos probably has a better arm.

Does anyone know of any site that compiles injury history of players on a particular team? I know baseball prospectus has it for each player. I just wanted to see it by team analysis. Thanks.Promoting Flores is the right choice. How can a catcher with 40% CS rate be inferior to one with 20% rate? Anyways, not much looking from Flores, besides pinch hitting in late innings. Pudge going on DL, I think this is our chance to see Ramos regularly.

I am hoping that Pudge will continue to be a huge help in the dugout during each game. I loved watching him when the camera panned the dugout, he seemed into each game. I don't expect that to stop and he should be able to help each of our young catchers. When is Hairston due to come off the dl? Surely they will make a move at that point. I don't dislike Stairs but he really has not helped except that one game.Love to win 2 of 3 but even one win will give us a 6-5 home stand and leave us at .500 at the All-Star break. I would not have guessed that in April.Go Nats

sjm, one of my favorite Pudge moments was early last year. The pitcher was getting into hot water; Nieves was catching. The camera caught Pudge in the dugout, looking at the plate: he pointed to the mound and made a calm-down gesture with his hands. Nieves went out to talk to his pitcher. I think the Nats got out of the jam, but I'm not positive on that. The point is that Ivan Rodriguez can handle a pitching staff, even from the bench.

Thanks for the comments on Pudge NatsJack, Scooter, and sjm 308.Hitting .214 or .314 the guy seems to have a way of reflecting professionalism in the game. Pudge always seems to be focused on the game, either talking to a player or studying the action on the field (thanks also to the TV camera). I hope his wisdom continues to prevail during his DL stint.

Just like last week, bring the imferior player up because he's on the 40 man. Solano OPS is 200 point higher! Again 200 points!And he's 1 year younger.I hope the front office gets smarter about their roster spots this offseason than last.

JaneB– The word coming out of Syracuse is Solano is a better defensive player than Flores, not by a wide margin but still. Offensively, it's not close. It's almost impossible to have an OPS 200 points than someone else, they're usually demoted. For Solano to = Wil Nieves that would mean that Flores has an OPS of around .200 when league average for catchers is .700.It was an airhead statement!